The Directorate of Immigration at Luxembbourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has confirmed that, on 16 and 17 August 2017, 43 Syrian refugees, including 20 adults and 23 children, arrived into Luxembourg; they represent the fourth group of Syrian refugees resettled from Turkey under the international agreement.

The agreement of 18 March 2016 between the European Union and Turkey provides that, for each Syrian who is readmitted by Turkey from the Greek islands, another Syrian from Turkey is resettled in one of the EU Member States. In this context, a Luxembourg delegation traveled to Istanbul in June to conduct interviews with refugees short-listed by the UN refugee agency UNHCR.

Representatives of the Directorate of Immigration of the Ministry, the Luxembourg Office for Hospitality and Integration (OLAI) and representatives of the Ministry of Health all welcomed the families at the airport.

Refugee status, as provided for in the Geneva Convention and the Law of 18 December 2015 on international protection and temporary protection, will be granted to these resettled persons.

The resettlement of a fifth and last group of Syrian refugees in the same framework is scheduled for early October.

The Luxembourg City Tourist Office (LCTO) has announced that the number of tourists recorded in the capital reached a peak over the 5 days betwee 11 and 15 August 2017; while not quite matching the record numbers in 2013, the figures were very positive.

The Streeta(rt)nimation festival, held on 11 and 12 August by the LCTO in close collaboration with the Ville de Luxembourg, was once again very popular with the public despite the unfavourable weather conditions on Saturday.

Over the five days, the LCTO teams gave advice to 7,284 people on tourist attractions and events in the city, with a peak of 1,909 on Saturday. The country of residence of visitors was revealed as: France 20%, the Netherlands 16%, Germany 15%, Luxembourg 7%, Belgium 5%, and 37% for other countries.

At the Bock casemates, the record day of Saturday saw 1,878 visitors, while the other days also showing very positive numbers.

Most of the 42 visits to the Palais Grand-Ducal were full, while in addition 93 guided tours were organised by the LCTO.

Four researchers in Luxembourg have received prizes for their engaging articles about their work or a scientific curiosity; from biomedicine and environmental sciences to psychology and theoretical physics, the articles illustrate the diversity of research and their importance for society.

The contest: four winners and two first prizes

The jury of the first science.lu Journalism Contest decided to reward four researchers, with two of them as recipients of the 1st prize.

1st prize:

- Martha Elwenspoek from the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) tells us more about how a stressful childhood can cause disease (EN).

- Barbara Glaser from the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) presents a methodology how floods could be monitored with thermic cameras (DE).

2nd prize:

- Alessandro Decarli from the University of Luxembourg explains the impact of the attachment bond between parents and their children in socio-emotional development in infancy and beyond (EN).

3rd prize:

- Christophe Theiβ, Luxembourg national at the Karlsruher Institute für Technologie makes us discover the detection of elementary particles called muons with the help of a coffee thermos (LU).

The two first prize winners receive a science journalism course abroad valued up to €2,000 and also €500 in prize money. The runner-up wins €250 in prize money and a place on a science.lu online journalism course. The third place brings €125 in prize money and also an invitation to participate in a science.lu online journalism course.

science.lu: an effective science communication platform

All winning articles have been published on www.science.lu , Luxembourg’s website that presents research news and science in an exciting and comprehensible language.

With each post having an average reach of 27,000 on science.lu and across its social media channels, this platform is an effective way for the public to stay tuned in on what happens in science and research in Luxembourg. It is also a great way for researchers to bridge the gap between their research and the general public.

Anchor science in society: the FNR supports researchers’ initiatives to promote science to the public

The science.lu contest was organised by the Fonds National de la Recherche (FNR) to promote researchers’ efforts to communicate science and engage with the public.

The FNR has set itself the objective to anchor science in society and offers a variety of instruments to stimulate and reward the promotion of science and the exchange between science and society. This includes the online platform science.lu, but also events like the Science Festival (this year again from 9 to 12 November. More info www.science-festival.lu)

Meet the researchers: official science.lu winner’s certificate

The FNR considers public engagement as an integral part of research and a joint responsibility of research institutions and funders. Dr Marc Schiltz, secretary general of the FNR and Jean-Paul Bertemes, science.lu Chief Editor congratulated the laureates and their institutions. They also cordially invited them to the FNR office to present them with an official science.lu winner’s certificate.

Intertrust, a leading global provider of high-value corporate and fund services, has announced the appointment of Anja Grenner as Director Funds in Luxembourg.

Anja will be responsible for leading the Fund Services business line in Luxembourg, as the firm continues to strengthen their expertise and service offering in the Luxembourg funds market.

Anja has joined Intertrust from SGG Group, a Luxembourg-headquartered corporate and fund administration services provider, where she was Head of Fund Services. Until the introduction of the SICAR in 2004, Anja worked with regulated UCITS and UCIs in Luxembourg, after which she concentrated on private equity and later real estate funds and unregulated entities. Anja has worked at various administrators, including Caceis, Dexia Fund Services (now RBC), and spent eight years at EY, where she was responsible for developing the private equity business.

Frank Welman, Luxembourg Managing Director, said “Anja has spent her career to date working within the fund services sector in Luxembourg, and as such brings an in-depth understanding and expertise of both the sector and jurisdiction. I am confident that Anja will be a fantastic addition to our business and brings the technical knowledge to continue to drive the growth and success of our Fund Services business at Intertrust in a sound and sustainable way.”

Anja plays an active role in organisations like LPEA, LuxReal and ALFI, promoting alternative assets within and outside Luxembourg, as well as working as a trainer at the House of Training (ex-IFBL).

Home from Home"the ex-pats' shop" is scheduled to open before the end of September.

Located at 148 Route d'Arlon in Strassen, the ground-floor retail space covers 100m2. Leased in July, the premises have now been redecorated, and the fixtures and fittings are currently being installed.

John Heffernan and Mark Hollis, both of whom have worked in Luxembourg for 20 years in the financial services sector, are equal partners in this exciting new venture.

Talking with Chronicle.lu, they plan to sell British, Irish, American, Australian and South African, etc., goods, including non-perishables (alcoholic drinks, non-alcoholic drinks), perishables (meat, meat products, dairy products, as well as biscuits, cereals, sweets, etc.), also greeting cards and seasonal products. Also, customers with special dietary requirements will be catered for, with a range of gluten-free products to be stocked, for example.

They explained that the stock will be sourced from more than a dozen different suppliers, including wholesalers and cash-and-carry.

John stressed that they will "try to be price-sensitive" in offering a range of quality products. Meanwhile, Mark explained that the location is "very central and close to the motorway, as well as to the European School in Mamer and other locations frequeted by the ex-pat community".

The new store will be open 7 days/week. More details on the exact date of the opening, etc., will be published when confirmed.

On Wednesday 16 August 2017, a WWII bomb was discovered in the Béigerhaardt forest between Wincrange and Boevange.

The discovery was made at midday and the emergency services were called. As the detonator could not be dismantled, the bomb was destroyed by the Luxembourg Army's Bomb Disposal Unit (SEPAL) by a controlled explosion, after a security perimiter was established by the Grand Ducal Police at the site.

Brasilian footballer Neymar Jr has today become the new ambassador of the NGO Handicap International, on the occasion of an event at the Place des Nations in Geneva.

Through this partnership, Neymar Jr. puts his immense popularity at the service of a cause: the most vulnerable in the world, people with disabilities in poor countries, victims of conflicts and natural disasters.

In concrete terms, the first action of Neymar Jr as the ambassador of Handicap International was to send a message of support to people with disabilities in the world. On 15 August at 15:00, Place des Nations in Geneva, the footballer climbed up the Broken Chair, a work of art by the Swiss artist Daniel Berset, created 20 years ago by Handicap International in front of the UN headquarters in Geneva to call for the banning of anti-personnel mines.

From the top of this iconic Geneva sculpture, Neymar Jr. addressed a message to the nations of the world, calling for more inclusion of people with disabilities in society. Symbolically, this message took the form of a soccer ball with the logo of Handicap International, in the alley of the flags located in front of the Palais des Nations.

More broadly, Neymar Jr made the choice to commit to Handicap International and to promote all its actions in favor of people with disabilities in poor countries, victims of natural disasters and conflicts.

The star and the NGO met on the issue of fitting amputees, which is an expensive issue in the heart of Neymar Jr and on which he had already committed. He sought to support actions on the subject on a global scale and discovered in early 2016 the work of Handicap International. He expressed the wish to go into the field to see the projects of the association, which has not yet been possible for reasons of his busy agenda.

In October 2016, he expressed on social networks his support for the actions of the association in Haiti, following Hurricane Matthew. And he responded to the invitation of Handicap International to come to Geneva for the "Broken Chair" event. On this occasion, he became the first international ambassador of the association.

Following the success of last year's event, the Anglican Church of Luxembourg is organising a Charity Treasure Hunt on Saturday 23 September 2017 in the Bambesch, L-1742 Luxembourg, offering challenge, fun and exercise for all the family.

The meeting point is the children's playground and teams will consist of 2-5 adults and/or children (no cars involved). Registration opens at 13:30 with the hunt starting shortly afterwards at 14:30; the prize-giving will be held at around 17:00.

All proceeds will be in aid of charity, a school for Syrian refugee children in Turkey.

Set in spring 1947, this historical drama sees the arrival of Lord Louis Mountbatten (Hugh Bonneville) and his wife Lady Edwina Mountbatten (Gillian Anderson), together with their youngest daughter, 18 year-old Lady Pamela Hicks (Lily Travers), arrive in New Delhi as the last Viceroy, tasked with overseeing the transition of British India to independence.

On the one hand, the drama deals with political intrigue and shenanigans, with General Lionel Hastings Ismay (Michael Gambon) to the fore; on the other, it focuses on the leves of two servants, one Hindu and the other Muslim, in the household of no less than 300 - plus another 200 who worked in the grounds, etc. This balance serves audiences of all ages in this, mainly melodramatic historical reconstruction, which showcases the Mountbattens in a very favourable light, with the backdrop being the coming of independence and what became known as the Mountbatten Plan - historians will be interested in various aspects of what transpired and the political manouverings that went on behind the scenes.

Also, and à la Downton Abbey and other period dramas, creentime was given to a sub-plot involving the relationship between a young Moslem girl (Aalia) and a young Hindu man (Jeet) who meet at the Viceroy's house after having previously known each other when her father was imprisoned and he helped her father by reading to him, etc.

With scenes ranging from the kitchens to the dining and other reception rooms for guests including the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, the film tries to cover the story from many different angles, and succeeds in getting across a message of something needs to be done, and very quickly, but how will it be accepted by everyone across India when there are so many divisions and differences? Mountbatten's famous diplomacy skills are needed, but will it be enough?

As well as an interesting historical setting, the cinematography - both scenery and lavish interiors - and wardrobe/costumes are both stunning, with an interesting dialogue showing, in particular, the personable sides of the Mountbattens in what is quite a lavish production.